Independence
by PiCka-ChIcK
Summary: The first step to be a team is to let go of that presistent independence to trust the others. Watch through the eyes of the new X-men as they try to live up to the expectations without loosing themselves in the process. Will they be saviors or ravagers?


**Author note: **I am superly exited today! I got accepted in the two jobs I applied for, god I'm happy! So I turned my car and got home as fast as I could then turned the Laptop on write, I just kept writing until my fingers ached. So here's the first chapter of the story I promissed you with, **_Independence. _**

****I must warn you thought that updates won't be really close to each other since life is a bitch, and she keeps me from inspiration a LOT! But the good news is that I already have a clear planning of the next few chapters.

**Disclaimer: **We all know that _**I **_Don't own Marvel or any of the marvelous characters known as the X-men, So you don't have to sue. The only thing I own is the plot, the waitress and **_Rosalie _**who is my OC.

_**Thea **_Belongs to **_Rawr Means I Love U In Dinosaur. _**

**Special thanks to: **I want to thank **_Sagami Ayumu _**For giving me some ideas and clearing some things, too bad you were late but you'll find other awesome OC stories.

_**Please enjoy and review, and don't kill me for having Ororo cut her hair! *Avoids rotten fruits thrown at her* **_

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><p>It was the last straw for Rosalie Rayag, who felt like she had been biting her tongue around her controlling mother for too long. Any rationale that her mother was only looking out for her or a reminder that they really did love each other was gone, and her temper was flaring.<p>

Now, here she was, stuck on a vacation she didn't want to go on in the first place, and just when she thought she could step away for a little fun, her mother had to stomp that to pieces, too. She even pretended to like that step-father of hers to try and seal the deal, and even that didn't work. Instead, it culminated in a grudge-match argument that was about to reach its breaking point.

Fueled by a fire that had been building purely to ignite, she wanted nothing more than to be alone or at least with someone worth the time.

"I'll have a papaya smoothie," She said, pushing a crumpled bill towards the floral-printed bar mistress. She finally had a second of freedom from her family, and she was basking in it. This slice of heaven had come at a price, though. Her parents thought that she left dinner for the bathroom, and how long she had before they began to look for her, she didn't know.

Family vacations were supposed to be _fun_, but Rosalie wasn't interested in family bonding. She was interested in sunbathing on the Caribbean beach, interested in the thousands of boys, and getting a nice tan to show her friends when she got back to the cold Canada; perhaps even sparking a flame of jealousy in Adrianna. She was interested in shopping for pretty, sequined sarongs and making sure the people at the beach got a good look at them; or at least the display of her legs.

But no, her mother's new family was taking priority over her and that was not something she liked.

Its' not like she was spoiled; well, honestly she was. But not to the point of being a "_What I want, I get_" Kind of girl, but with enough whining she could probably rival that level; but she wasn't that arrogant nor that selfish, pretty generous even. And ever since her mother got remarried, she had sunk to the bottom of the _Attention list _her mother had, being replaced by the new 3 members' family.

"Do you have another order or will this be all?" A loud gum-pop, an impatient click of the tongue and Rosalie's attention was focused on the waitress who was a bratty blonde who did nothing but ignore the costumers and drool over boys during all her shift.

"I think I might need something else to satisfy my hunger but I am quite confused on what to choose, mind giving me a slight description of the best salad you have available?" The waitress tried to conceal her grown while Rosalie gave a victory cheer in her mind; the girl seemed to hate every female customer she received so might as well give her a valid reason for hating her.

"There's the Crab Louie Salad; it is made from: Lettuce, Crab meat, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, asparagus and cucumber. You will pay an extra 6 bucks if you want the dressing that is made from mayonnaise, chili sauce and pepper dust; satisfied?"The waitress scrolled down the menu she was given with frustration, narrowing her brows when she finished.

"Nah, I like to hear what your best seafood salad is." There was a wink from Rosalie then an angry huff from the waitress before she pulled another paper and began reading in a much more heated tone.

"The tuna salad is the best seafood one we have, it is prepared with: Tuna, mayonnaise, hard boiled eggs, celery, relish, onion, lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, parmesan cheese, anchovies and finally dried and shredded squid; will that be your choice?" The waitress almost seemed about to cry; she wasn't even used to doing that _much _work.

"I'll have that, thank you." The waitress seemed grateful and flashed a smile before disappearing.

Using the silence to pounder on her weary thoughts, she began studying the pool's occupants. There were small groups of women and men, some tanning and others swimming while some enjoyed small chats under the soft sun. She yawned from exhaustion and closed her eyes but was brought back to present by the light tap of fingers and slight pop of gum coming from the waitress who was holding the plate with a bored expression before she slammed the bill on the counter.

"Bon appétit, and come back soon." Rosalie could sense the girl had a …_or not _at the end of her tongue but she didn't comment on it, looking hungrily at the plate that was presented to her.

She noticed some really odd habits taking place in her persona and daily life lately, such as consuming a lot of meat and drinking loads of water as well as napping at day and staying alert at night; she also felt as if something was peaking at the top of her head and considerable aches at her lower back. Before she could even continue deeper in her train of thought, her attention was stolen by how her plate was _empty. _Before she could accuse the waitress of serving her an empty plate she felt herself chewing and the taste of tuna in her mouth. _Holy shit, I couldn't have eaten it that fast! _

"I see that you're finished with your plate." stated the waitress as she looked down to her nails, probably wondering if she should repaint them.

Nodding, Rosalie got up and threw some money on the counter while sprinting to her room, shouting a "Keep the change" in the process.

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><p>Rosalie spent the whole day sprawled over her mattress, fever overtaking her. Her mother passed by her to make sure she was alright and was convinced it was just some slight fever that would go away.<p>

Crisp and cool heaven, that's where she was, relaxing over the sheets.

It feels so sensational against her tired skin. The rough, yet blissfully wintry bed linen soothed every muscle in her legs.

She raised her right arm above her head and stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. The room was bathed in darkness and the hint of moonlight seeped through the off white, half open window blinds. As she shifts onto her side, she feels as if she could sleep for days. But with the hint of sleep comes her thoughts.

Stretching her legs and feeling the ripple of the sheets tickle the heels of her feet; she pulls the sheet up to her waist, letting it fall onto the skin below her tank and above her sleep shorts. It even cooled the heated skin of her abdomen and calmed the aches she was feeling in her sore legs.

It was a feeling she was used to have after a gymnastics competition, when all the adrenaline left her body and made her rely on wobbly legs for the rest of the night. Except this time, she didn't assist a competition nor did she run a marathon; she only went sightseeing and had her lunch before she started feeling like shit.

Her whole stomach churned and everything she ate began dancing, giving her the urge to throw up but she resisted it. Her forehead probably had the ability to burn anything it came in contact with while her body ached and her bones seemed at the verge of breaking.

Even shit didn't describe how she was feeling.

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><p>Charles Xavier spent 3 hours straight with the Cerebra helmet over his head; focusing on a mutant precisely. Cerebra was the new updated version of what was once called Cerebro, a machine that the X-men (Mainly Xavier) used to detect humans and mutants alike; it amplified the brainwaves of its' users enabling them to detect traces of others on a worldwide radius. Unfortunately with the cure coming out, more than half of the mutants' population was gone. Plus, the new mutant-hunting organization that went under the name M.R.D, short for Mutant response division set over 30 Satellite that had neural dampener systems as well as Anti-psionic devices that kept all of the mutants' brainwaves under a low frequencies, stopping any kind of telepath that wasn't at least 30 feet near to detect any mutant brainwave from someone. So in short words, it made detecting a mutant Via Cerebra impossible.<p>

But that wasn't why he was focused like a predator on a prey; he was focused because of the painful cries that hunted his mind for the rest of the night. Since he woke up, there was an awful pounding on his skull as well as distant cries that hit him full force, making him even shake at occasions so he decided a quick tour with Cerebra would be the best. It was then when he captured the only mutant brainwaves that probably hit every telepath on the earth.

It was like a child's cries in the middle of a night, reaching everyone who passed by. But those he was feeling made him want to curl into a ball and rest still until he blocked the rest of world. But this was an opportunity that shouldn't be missed because never in his life has he seen a mutant fighting the MRD's system. Well, except _Her. _

A soft swoosh was heard as two figures walked into the Cerebra room, both females by the ease they carried themselves with. The first was a tall African woman with a body to die for, with strikingly blue eyes and short snowy hair while the other was a younger girl with dark brown hair and blazing blue eyes.

"Hello professor, anything specific you want us to assist you with?" Asked the older woman as she neared Xavier's wheelchair with the younger girl behind her, eyes filled with utter awe.

"Hello to you too Ororo, Thea," He greeted as he nodded to each of them once he mentioned their names "I hope that I didn't disturb you."

"Not at all professor, we understand that we are needed here more than we would have been at any other place." Responded Ororo as she nodded warmly, ushering the stunned Thea in front of her.

"Yeah, I can't believe I'm finally seeing Cerebra!" The admiring voice in which Thea spoke brought a small smile to Xavier's face, reminding him that there was still hope, even if it was small.

"I am sorry you didn't see it earlier, we rarely use it if not never." Ever since the cure and the curse known as the MRD came, mutants were impossible to find. The only mutants that overcome the Anti-psionic barrier were Thea, who was found hiking through the East Coast, and the new mutant who after what he gathered while visiting her mind, was named Rosalie Rayag.

"I am sure there is going to be another opportunity to discuss this matter: we have more pressing subjects now, isn't it professor?" Xavier nodded his head and removed the helmet from his head, turning his wheelchair to face the two other occupants of the room.

"Do you remember the way we found you Thea?" Thea shook her head a yes then cocked her head to the side, confused why he would ask such a question and if it had any relation to what they were called for.

"Yes, you said that my brainwaves were so strong and special they overcome the neural dampener barrier and were loud enough for you to feel without the use of Cerebra." Xavier nodded and there was the ghost of a smile stretching at his lips.

"What we are facing here is a similar case, but instead of just pleas, I am receiving pained cries. It is the first time I see a mutation hurting its' owner, I do know that some can inflict a small damage when first showing but what I'm receiving is that this girl's bones are breaking themselves to reshape in a more flexible structure. I already located her and I was hoping you will be ready to help yet another mutant in distress." Xavier's face showed signs of confusion and concerns while Ororo's showed worry, as for Thea, her face was etched with concern and even a little bit of excitement.

"We will be right on it; we cannot deny a bother or a sister our help."Thea nodded at Ororo's statement and quickly followed the older woman out of the room and toward the Jet, ready for her first mission.

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><p>Rosalie knew what it was like to be on the verge of death but denied that sweet relief, she understood it completely. She was vibrating as if her body was receiving a violent seizure or worse even, as she noticed the once white sheets matted in crimson liquid.<p>

_Snap..._The sickening voice echoed in the room, signaling another bone was broken. She resisted the urge to cry out in pain and bit her lower lip until she drew blood from the bruised flesh; with new attention, she noticed that her teeth were sharper than normal with pronounced upper and lower canines, making it easy for them to sink in her flesh. She gave a look at her nails and found that they were longer and sharper than they had been 4 hours ago; not to mention that something was pushing at her lower back to the point of breaking it.

"God, is this how you're repaying me for not going to church?" She asked thin air as another bone broke, this time making her screech like a Banshee. She looked to the picture on her bedpost, one of her father and felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

_Hunger…_It hit her like bricks, shaking her to the core by the realization that she craved human flesh, any kind of meat. There was another twist and this time, her broken bones began forming in a more sly structure, but painful nonetheless.

The last thing she saw was the picture of her father smiling down at her before her world became dark; with white stripes along some sides.

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><p>"So, how are we going to infiltrate the resort again?" Asked Thea as she blinked again, feeling fear and excitement wash over her. For the past 2 hours on the <em>Blackbird<em>, Ororo had been explaining to Thea how the mission was going to go but the latter insisted that she didn't understand how they were going to enter without being noticed. Of course, both knew it was just an act because Thea didn't want to spend 2 hours looking out the window or pulling at the tight uniform.

"How about instead of talking about _my _tactics, we discuss your Codename?" At the mention of the word "Codename", Thea sprung up in her seat, skipping all the way toward the Co-pilot seat and watching Ororo in excitement. The best thing of being an X-man, or X-woman in her case was the codename she was going to get. She silently tapped her lower lip with her gloved finger and made a humming sound, pretending to think.

"How about Decode? Considering it match my powers AND sends chills up the skin!" Ororo laughed at Thea's enthusiasm, remembering her own days as a new X-man.

"I must admit I am impressed by the originality of it, if it suits you then its' fine. Remember that we only call each other codenames when on missions and trainings." Thea nodded and felt the Jet come to a halt, still floating in the air.

"Application #34, stealth mode; lock all the controls and navigation options under the password _00958276._" There was an automatic click then the jet's door opened, letting Thea know that they were far up in the air.

"Ughhh…Where's the resort?" She knew what the answer was going to be like but a girl can try, can't she?

"340 feet under us, do not worry, we will not be seen." Ororo mentioned to herself then; a silent mention to let the girl know she was going to use her wind to safely float them down.

"But aren't we going to be seen?" Thea knew that it was only 5:00Pm, which meant people were everywhere in the resort, but she also knew that Ororo mentioned something in her "Stealth tactic".

"Just trust me, it will be fine." Thea did as she told and advanced toward Ororo, who choose that moment to show the young girl her trick. Her eyes glowed white as she summoned a thick cloud of mist around her body. It kept gathering until she could see nothing of her body, and then it rose into the air. The moment it hit the sunlight, it began to fade until there was nothing left.

Not even Ororo.

"Now, if I do this right, I should be able to create a thick mist around myself. I'll make it _just_ transparent enough that I can still see, but also dense enough that I can't _be_ seen. If I move the mist around me at just the right speed, the light waves from the sun should bend all the way around the mist and reconnect on the other side, seemingly unaltered. Quite similar to the way that water flows around a boulder, if it helps to think of it that way." Thea nodded her head in awe, finally realizing why Ororo was one of the strongest mutants there could be.

"Now I know why you are my favorite teacher!" exclaimed Thea as she felt slight wind beginning to lift her so she floated near Ororo, the mist enveloping her also.

"It is flattering to know that, I guess you and Logan didn't have a family bound." Ororo chuckled as she thought about the many times when Wolverine called Thea a shrimp; he was the number one hater of the idea to create new X-men to the point he made Thea's life a living hell, as well as the other members to come.

"Yeah well, but Hank is rivaling you so you better keep giving me candy and stuffing my ego if you want to live to that reputation." Ororo gave a good laugh before she jumped off the jet, quickly being caught by the winds she created to soon be followed by Thea.

They made their way quietly to the resort and maneuvered themselves easily while Thea kept attention on everyone to see if everyone doubted something; so with her power she was easily able to tell that they suspected nothing. They quietly entered the section of the resort where the girl's room was, finally reaching her door.

Ororo did a quick check and assured herself that no one was nearby so she let their cover fall to calmly inspect the lock.

"So, any new tricks Storm?" Asked Thea as she leaned in but didn't notice why Ororo was so engrossed in the lock.

"If I am able to generate a little bit of air pressure on the wards in a successful manner, I may receive a slight fraction of time where the Cylinder will be open; do you have a Bobby pin?" Thea shook her head a yes, astounded again by the cleverness of her teacher that only reminded her she had a _long _way to go.

"This should go this way and….Here we go!" Storm pushed the door open while Decode silently followed her, afraid to see how the girl was doing.

It wasn't really a surprise when they saw her unconscious on her sheets that were almost crimson with the amount of blood that seeped into them. Storm mentioned for Decode to take lead, confusing the girl. She quickly noticed a white tail, similar to that of a Bengal tiger's one; white and with black stripes.

"I am going to go pack her clothes; you are very advanced in biology so I would like to hear your statement about how she is when I come back." Decode was thankful she was going to be useful and watched as Storm made her way into another room to pack some clothes for the girl.

So during that time, Decode inspected every part of the girl to know how her mutation was affecting her; she gladly noticed that she wasn't pained anymore due to the peacefulness of her face. Minutes after, Storm appeared with a huge bag and walked toward Decode, waiting to hear what she had to say on the new mutant.

"Her ears are pointed and fur-covered, she is certainly going to grow tiger-ears; she has sharper-than-normal teeth with pronounced upper and lower canines, eyes with enlarged irises and vertically-slit pupils, and retractable claws on her feet and hands instead of nails. Her claws and teeth are sufficiently strong to puncture sheet steel, such as that found in a car body. She also has a long semi-prehensile tail that will be able to willfully contacts, but not grasps and lifts, objects with it. Was I good?" Thea's eyes shined with excitement, expecting to hear some negative response but Ororo's face held a huge smile.

"No, you were amazing; I am sure you will grow to be a very talented X-man. Now let's move her to the jet, shall we?" Thea nodded but before she followed Ororo out, she reached to the framed picture of a man on the bedpost, knowing it was probably important for the girl.

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><p>Rosalie frowned as the sea of darkness slowly faded away. She felt like her entire skeleton was vibrating and, though it was quite impossible, her head felt like it was slightly dented. She opened her eyes and squinted against the harsh light of the medical wing and tried to lift her head, but hissed in pain and let it fall back, crying out colorful expletives when stars exploded behind her eyes.<p>

She lay still for a moment, letting the stars recede until she opened her eyes again.

"Awake, I see," Xavier's voice said softly.

"How long have I been out?" Rosalie managed to rasp out.

"Three days," was the response. "Well, four days, really. Thea told me that you woke a little yesterday, but when you tried to lift your head you knocked yourself out again."

Rosalie frowned. That felt like it'd only happened a second ago.

"Where the hell am I?" She asked while reaching to rub her sore head only to fall on pointed ears that were similar to those she had seen tigers have.

"You are in my mutant institute, a safe haven for all the mutants; what is left of them that is." There was a weary smile on Xavier's face before he lifted his gaze to her.

"What about my mother, how is she?" They may have exchanged bitter words, insulted each other and even used physical threats; but she they were still bound to each other by diamond ropes.

"We already contacted your mother and convinced her to keep this secret, I think she will. Can you get up?" Rosalie shook her head no, while the professor hummed in apprehension.

"Hank, our medical expert, gave you slight painkillers in case your powers caused any more damage; they should be out of your body in few minutes." True to his words, her powers were full and working in the matter of minutes.

Rosalie's senses of sight, smell, and hearing extended far into the superhuman range and were also superior to those of ordinary cats. She saw farther, and with much greater clarity than an ordinary human. Her sense of smell was developed to the point she caught Xavier's unique scent, and even every object's slight smell. Her hearing was also similarly enhanced allowing her to hear a wider range of frequencies than a normal human as well as clearly hear sounds that would be far too faint for a human to detect. She was so engrossed in what she was experiencing and struggling to understand what was happening that she missed the pair of footsteps that entered the medical lab.

"Thea, I see that you came back; glad to see you here too Logan." Rosalie saw the man known as Logan growl and resisted the urge to hiss herself while the younger girl, named Thea, made her way toward her.

"Hey, my name is Thea Saunders, welcome here." Rosalie nodded and took the extended hand into her own, shaking it.

"I'm Rosalie Rayag, call me Rose." Thea nodded in excitement and turned to Logan, who hadn't spoke since he entered.

"Another pathetic shrimp, ya need ta drop the idea Chuck; it ain't workin'." Thea glared at him while Rosalie looked confused, but snarled none the less.

"Who are you calling shrimp, caveman?" Logan snarled and looked at the girl, until the professor calmly interjected.

"No need for insults, we are all brothers and sisters and belong to the same place. Now Thea, if you could please lead Rosalie to the room you will be sharing, you can explain anything she needs to know." Thea nodded and both girls got up, exiting the now tension-full room.

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><p>"And finally, here is where you'll be staying!" Announced Thea as she pushed the door open wide, letting the curious feline before she pushed the door open and advanced.<p>

"So you'll be my roommate? Better than mister 'Imma-eat-you-if-you-come-near-me'." Rosalie played with her tail before she leapt at a bag she recognized as her own.

"That was Logan, known as wolverine; he's always like that." Thea watched as Rosalie inspected the bag, recognizing her clothes.

"I bet he scares women off with that growl of his; anyway, from what I caught, you want be to be part of the X-men?" Thea resisted the urge to correct the girl and tell her he had a fiancée, so she busied herself by answering the question.

"The professor says that I and you have something special, because we easily broke the anti-psionic barrier; which means that something we have is stronger than most mutants. And we are what the mutant population needs right now, however, if you don't any part in this; you can refuse." Rose lowered her head to think, coming to the same conclusion over and over.

"I really don't have a choice do I? Well, if I get some asses to kick, who am I to say no?" Thea laughed, glad that Rosalie had a good sense of humor; that was something they shared.

"Yeah well, tomorrow is Sunday but that doesn't mean that we don't have work to do. I prefer to go sleep early." Rosalie nodded, understanding that she had work to do, such as asking for her schedule and understanding a bit more about what was going on.

"Yeah well, goodnight; don't forget to watch yourself, I might eat you." Thea laughed again while Rosalie just lowered her head. If only she knew how much that was true…..

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><p><strong>Second Author note: <strong>And the end of this chapter !

Hope you enjoyed and will hopefully review, even if it sucked. Can anyone guess who Logan's Fiancée is? Any woman who can put up with his temper must have the patience of a Godess. *Wink, wink.*

**In next chapter: **How will Thea pass through a night with a hungry tigress? Will Rosalie give up to her animal instincts or resist to the appealing urge? And who is Marisol, this girl they have to save? Wait, the brotherhood? Nobody said anything about a team of teenagers making the mission hard!

**_Find ou in next chapter, don't forget to review !_**


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